Social psychology Flashcards
(75 cards)
Social psychology
= scientific study of thoughts, feelings and behaviours of individuals in social situations and how they are influenced by the actual, imagined or implied presence of others
the social brain
= our brains take in and process social information
- Understanding self and relations to others
- Forming judgments
- Understanding and making inferences
- Social decision making
- Perception of social cues
- Understanding social situations
The power of the situation
= The social contexts we find ourselves in shape the way we think, feel and act
Benefits of social psychology
Gives insight into our and others behaviour
Helps understand causes and consequences of events
Gives tools to act effectively
Its fun
The social self
= a unitary and continuous awareness of who one is
Influences
- How we think of ourself
- What we like and dislike
- Habits we form
- Values we adhere to
- How we behave
Social identity
Identity is something that binds us with others not separates us
A big part of our personality comes from what groups we belong to
E.g. gender, race, ethnicity, political orientation, religion, interest groups, ideology groups, work groups
Self-categorisation theory
We group things together to help us understand the world
Emphasises the differences between groups and the similarities within groups
Cultural identity
= our sense of self derived from groups we belong to that have a distinct culture
2 types of cultural identity
- Individualist = the self is an autonomous entity separate from others and people should celebrate independence
- my environment should change to fit me
- Western countries, USA, UK, Australia
2. Collectivists = people should seek to fit into a community and the self is fundamentally connected to other people - I should change to fit my environment
- East Asian, south Asian, African and Latin American countries
How being with others helps us meet our basic needs
- belonging
- Self-esteem
- Control
- Meaning
Sociometer hypothesis
Things that make us feel good about ourself are also things the take us feel belonging
Self esteem cues us to when we need to attend to our social bonds, e.g. when self esteem is low we feel social exclusion and crave social interactions
Social comparisons
Two assumptions
- We want to gain an accurate self-evaluation
- Help us reality check our own self-evaluation
Two types of comparisons
- Downwards comparison = we make ourself feel better when we compare ourself to people worse than us
- Upwards comparison = we make ourself feel worse when we compare yourself to people better than us
Self-evaluation Maintenance Model
Two assumptions
- We seek to maintain or improve our self-evaluation
- Comparisons with others influence self evaluation
Two processes of self evaluation
- Reflection
= usually happens when evaluation happens in a domain that is not relevant to self
Self evaluation goes up because the self shares in the success- Comparison = other people worsen our self evaluation
= usually happens when evaluation happens in a domain that is relevant to self
Self evaluation goes down because it invites unfavourable comparisons with our own abilities
- Comparison = other people worsen our self evaluation
3 ways being alone can be bad for us
3 ways we can be alone
Psychological distance - loneliness
= discrepancy between the level of connectedness we feel and what we currently have
Can be effected by both relationship quality and quantity
Can lead to a decline in
- Physical health
- Life satisfaction
- Social interactions
People directly in contact with a lonely person are 52% more likely to be lonely themselves
Due to :
-induction = emotion contagion within a network
-homophily = similar people are connected
-shared environments = exposure to the same social challenges and upheavals
Social distance - social network centrality
= lack of inclusion in a social network
Fewer social interactions leads to a higher mortality
Induced distance - rejection and discrimination
Ostracism
= social shunning
Reasons for social shunning
Group reasons
- Strengthen the group
- Protect the group from unacceptable behaviour
Individual reasons
- Individuals who ostracise feel more powerful and in control
Discrimination
Can lead to ill health through
- Stress and emotional reactions with detrimental impacts on mental health
- Negative coping strategies e.g. drugs, smoking, binge drinking
- Reduced access to human resources e.g. education, employment, housing, health care
- Physical injury due to assault
Is social media good or bad for us
situation hypothesis
= online interactions strengthen existing relationships and thus have a social benefit
- Through active use to connect with others
- Can stimulate self-disclosure which improves relationships and wellbeing
Displacement hypothesis
= social media replaces offline, face-to-face interactions, thus incurring social costs
- Passive use e.g. monitoring others lives without direct exchange
- Accessing social media as it seems easier than communicating face-to-face
Snap judgements
= quick impressions about people based off brief glances
Thin slicing
= ability to draw relatively accurate conclusions about the emotions and attitudes of people in short interactions
Person perception
Judgments based on 2 primary dimensions, warmth and competence
Warm judgments are often made quicker than competence
